‘The Animal Kingdom’ Review: Miyazaki Meets ‘Animorphs’ in This Satisfying French Genre-Bender
Courtesy of Magnet Releasing.
French writer/director Thomas Cailley’s sophomore feature effort Le Règne animal, or The Animal Kingdom, pushes the boundaries of genre-bending cinema while also delivering an entertaining final product that arthouse and mainstream moviegoers alike can authentically appreciate. Starring French heavy hitters Romain Duris, Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Paul Kircher, The Animal Kingdom takes place in a not-so-alternate reality where a mysterious mutation has sprung up among the world’s population, causing individuals to slowly morph into humanoids that take on the characteristics of animals, including wolves, octopi, hawks, and chameleons. Through this framework of the world Cailley vigorously creates in the film, The Animal Kingdom can take on a multitude of engaging sensibilities, shifting from coming-to-age drama to sci-fi thriller to cautionary fable with impressive dexterity.
Sixteen-year-old Émile (Kircher) is stuck in traffic while his father François (Duris) heckles him about eating processed, mass-produced junk food. Just ahead of the feuding duo, commotion erupts from an ambulance, and a half-eagle, half-human bursts from the vehicle before escaping clumsily. A driver in the car next to François exclaims, “Oh, the times we live in!” The two continue on their journey, which leads them to a hospital where they are set to visit their wife/mother Lana, who has also fallen victim to the perplexing new mutation. In a meeting with Lana’s doctor, François and Émile learn of a new treatment facility in southern France specializing in the care and research of those afflicted with the mutation. As the family patriarch, François decides that his wife should go to this treatment center, and he and Émile will head down for the summer to be close by. The night they arrive, a massive storm causes the bus transporting Lana and other victims with the affliction to crash, and she and forty others escape into the surrounding wilderness. Convinced he can continue to love and care for his wife, François becomes obsessed with finding her, which he ropes Émile and a sympathetic local policewoman named Julia (Exarchopoulos) into. As Émile juggles navigating the highs and lows of teenagehood and conflicting feelings about his mother’s transformation, the boy notices himself change dramatically in ways he never expected...
Courtesy of Magnet Releasing.
If The Animal Kingdom was made on a Hollywood backlot, it would run the probable risk of over-sentimentality and vulgar CGI effects. Yet, Cailley’s skillful direction, screenplay, and craft combine to create a film with mass appeal and artistic integrity. Written during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film leans into the instability of the world during that time and the polarizing ideological dynamics that have only increased since. Referred to as “victims,” “creatures,” and “critters,” the mutant souls can be deciphered as a metaphor for the disenfranchisement of marginalized communities, but most relevantly in the context of migrants since immigration has been such a hotly contested issue in French society during recent years. As the film’s central characters interact with the surrounding world, the friction between conservative and liberal beliefs becomes apparent, leading to a heightened societal distrust and paranoia that feels incredibly appropriate for the times. The movie’s name is clearly inspired by society’s hierarchal structure and the “hunt or be hunted” attitudes established by the ruling systems in place today.
The Animal Kingdom’s core actors bring genuineness to the characters and their dramatic emotional arcs as the movie progresses. Well-respected in the world of French cinema, Duris delivers a rich and nuanced performance as François, who undergoes much torment as a father struggling to keep his family together in the conventional sense. The conflict François faces is palpable, especially as he stumbles to make the best decisions for his wife and son. There is a certain hypocrisy in François’s essence –– smoking cigarettes while scolding his son for eating potato chips, quoting poet René Char –– contradictions that almost make the character feel more fully realized, particularly as the movie develops and a near role reversal occurs between son and father. Around twenty years old at the time of filming, Kircher also produces an impressive performance as Émile, especially when considering the demanding physicality of the role and that his character is featured in nearly every sequence in the movie. As Émile evolves physically and internally, Kircher expertly embodies the push and pull of the character, shifting from an awkward, twitchy teenager uncomfortable in his own skin to a fully realized individual, aligning his transformation with Émile’s metamorphosis from child to adult. Never the performer to be overlooked, Exarchopoulos’s turn as Julia offers comedic opportunities for the movie’s narrative development, as well as providing a sympathetic character whose convictions offer a solid moral compass to those around her, even if at times she feels like she is just screaming into the void.
Courtesy of Magnet Releasing.
The Animal Kingdom's visual language greatly supports the movie's thematic elements of communing with nature to reach a serenity no longer supplied in modern society. The director's brother, David Cailley, serves as the cinematographer with a daring, constantly revolving camera that captures everything from the film's thrilling action sequences to its most emotional moments. Shot on location in the untouched forests of Landes de Gascogne, where the Cailley brothers grew up, the stunning natural surroundings seem to take on their own character in the movie. The film's look begins dazzlingly bright, reflecting the ongoing summer, but gradually evolves into the greys and greens of seasonal change that mirror Émile's return to the natural world in a manner that feels reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky or Princess Mononoke. As with these works, The Animal Kingdom hints at elements of cautionary tales of environmental destruction, as the mutations occurring seem to be derived from anthropogenic forces or manmade blunders. The makeup prosthetics and visual effects used to bring the mutant victims to life must also be noted for their incredible crafting: had they gone wrong in post-production, they could have easily distracted from the movie's character-building and narrative.
While The Animal Kingdom's plotting and thematic elements may not tread the most uncharted of cinematic waters, Cailley combines them in a brilliantly considered manner that makes for a fresh and exciting spin on the genres and concepts he explores in the movie, culminating in a brilliant film that is thoughtful and refreshing. The Animal Kingdom first premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival last spring, where it opened the Un Certain Regard section. Upon its theatrical release in France, The Animal Kingdom grossed nearly nine million dollars and was nominated for twelve César Awards, winning five in February. The Animal Kingdom will be released in theaters and on VOD in the United States on Friday, March 15, with its distribution handled by Magnet Releasing.
4/5
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